So here’s the deal. You know how great it is that GMail lets you sign up for a free account and even gives you 15 GB of free storage to go with it? They’ve got an estimated 1.8 billion (with a “b”) active users, so that amounts to… a lot of free storage. Ever wonder how they can afford all that storage space? As the wise adage goes, “if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product”. Google has full access to every email you write and receive, and they’ve been pretty unscrupulous in how they use that information. While they claim to have scaled back the snooping in the last few years, there’s very little that we can do as consumers to see proof. Google’s advertising network is dominant across the internet, in no small part because of the massive amount of email data at their fingertips.
As far as finding alternatives go, they’re about a dime a dozen. Email has been a pretty boring service for a long time, so there are hundreds of companies that offer free email services. The main kicker is that most of these free services are using your email data in similar ways to Google, at best.
Thankfully, there are also tons of privacy-focused email providers, some of which even offer migration services (typically for a fee) in order to help with the transition from GMail. As far as lists go, this one will be fairly boring. Most providers offer similar features and protections, with only a small variety in pricing or storage options for different account tiers. Choose whichever service feels right to you.
Just don’t forget that you’ve probably got a lot of accounts to update if you truly want to be free of Google.
GMail Alternatives
ProtonMail
Free tier storage: 1 GB
Just like everything else on this list, ProtonMail is a great option for privacy and security. They ues end-to-end encryption, they’re hosted in a European country with strong consumer protection policies around security and privacy, and they even offer a migration service to move all of your old emails away from whatever you were using before. Plus, for a few bucks a month, you can get email aliases that further help to protect your privacy.
Tuta
Free tier storage: 1 GB
Another popular option in the secure email provider space is Tuta. They offer end-to-end encryption, which means they’re encrypted before leaving your browser. In other words, Tuta doesn’t have the ability to look at your emails. They also are very staunchly anti-ad and privacy focused on their website. They have apps for all major operating systems, and seem to be a great option for anyone looking to move away from GMail.
If you’re really privacy-focused, Tuta also offers key verification, which allows you to individually authenticate each person you’re communicating with via email. All of this assumes you and your recipient both know what key verification is and have the corresponding apps configured. But, oh boy, if you do, it’s pretty sweet!
Posteo
Basic tier storage: 4 GB
The main draw with Posteo is their claims of sustainability. Their data centres and offices are all powered by 100% renewable energy, and they actually have a fair number of reasons why they’re so sustainable on their website. They don’t offer free plans, but they’re simplest plan starts at €1/month and scales up based on your usage.
The only thing to watch out for is that they don’t appear to have account limits, instead charging based on what is used. This means that rather than cutting off your capabilities when you reach a limit, your bill simply goes up. The pricing all seems fairly reasonable, but if you’re someone who wants to sign up for something and not need to track your usage regularly, you may find it slowly starting to add up. That being said, unless you’re a prolific email user who sends massive files from these emails (rather than uploading them to a file-sharing service), you’re probably not likely to notice this as an issue. As a point of reference, I’ve been using my GMail for 15 years now and am only using around 8GB of storage without having thought much about deleting anything.
Mailfence
Free tier storage: 500 MB
Another in a whole variety of privacy-focused email providers, Mailfence seems to check all the boxes one would look for in email options. They offer end-to-end encryption on all emails, meaning nobody else can see what your email says. They also digitally sign all emails, which adds further assurance that you’re communicating with the people you think you are. Add in a lack of ads and trackers, and you’ve got yourself a pretty solid email service.
Mailbox.org
Basic tier storage: 2 GB
The last option on this list is another great private service that offers encrypted email within GDPR-applicable countries, all powered by 100% renewable energy. Like Posteo, they don’t offer a free tier, but their lowest plan starts at €1/month (about $1.59 Canadian). Because they’re offering only paid plans, they can put more effort into running their service rather than needing to find other revenue streams. And because their servers are located in Germany, there are much higher standards they must follow as far as data privacy and security than you might find from Canadian or US providers.